Lesson No.

11 (3 hours)
Title: Cry of Balintawak/ Pugadlawin

Description

The “First Cry of Revolution” became the movement of the Filipinos to fight back on the tyrannical
rule of the Spanish regime; it is also called as the “First Cry”, the revolution of independence. In
this scenario the Filipinos tore their cedulas (tax receipt) and proclaimed the start to fight for
independence-the main goal. The news of the existence of Katipunan spread throughout Manila and
so, Andres Bonifacio, the Supreme leader of the Katipunan organized a meeting outside the city
particular in Balintawak to talk about their next movement for the revolution against Spaniards.
According to him, the start of the revolution will begin at the end of month of August.

Thus, in this topic, it is surprising that, there are different versions of primary sources where and
when was the First Cry really happened. The eyewitnesses of the first-hand information were Dr.
Pio Valenzuela, Santiago Alvarez, Guillermo Masangkay and Gregoria de Jesus.

Content

Dr. Pio Valenzuela’s Account “Cry of Pugad Lawin’’

(August 23, 1896)

Dr. Pio Valenzuela has been authorized the ‘’Cry of Pugad Lawin, who happened to eyewitness the
event. He was also an official of the Katipunan and a friend of Andres Bonifacio. There were two
versions presented by him. In his first version, he told that the prime staging point of the Cry was
in Balintawak on Wednesday of August 26, 1896. He held this account when the happenings or
events are still vivid in his memory. On the other hand, later in his life and with a fading memory,
he wrote his Memoirs of the Revolution without consulting the written documents of the Philippine
revolution and claimed that the ‘’Cry’’ took place at Pugad Lawin on August 23, 1896.

Source: Zaide, Gregorio and Sonia Zaide. (1990). Documentary Sources of Philippine History. Vol.
5. Manila: National Book Store
Torres Jose Victor. (2018). Batis : Sources in the Philippine History. C & E Publishing, Inc.

The Account
The first place of refuge of Andres Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto, Procopio Bonifacio, Teodoro
Plata, Aguedo del Rosario, and myself was Balintawak, the first five arriving there on August
19, and I, on August 20, 1896. The first place where some 500 members of the Katipunan
met on August 22, 1896 was the house and yard of Apolonio Samson at Kangkong. Aside
from the persons mentioned above, among those who were there were Briccio Pantas,
Alejandro Santiago, Ramon Bernardo, Apolonio Samson, and others. Here, views were only
exchanged and no resolution was debated or adopted. It was at Pugad Lawin, in the house,
store- house and yard of Juan Ramos, son of Melchora Aquino, where over 1,000 members
of the Katipunan met and carried out considerable debate and discussion on August 29,
1896. Only one man protested and fought against a war and that was Teodoro Plata.
Besides the persons named above, among those present at this meeting were Enrique
Cipriano, Alfonso Pacheco, Tomas Remigio, Sinforoso San Pedro, and others. After the
tumultuous meeting many of those present tore their cedula certificates and shouted “Long
live the Philippines! Long live the Philippines!’’

Santiago Alvarez’s Account “The Cry of Bahay Toro”

(August 24, 1896)

This version of the “Cry’’ was written by Santiago Alvarez, a well-known Katipunero from Cavite and
a son of Mariano Alvarez. Santiago is a relative of Gregoria de Jesus, who happened to be the wife
of Andres Bonifacio. Unlike the author of the first version mentioned (Valenzuela), Santiago Alvarez
is not an eyewitness of this event. As a result, this version of him is not given of equal value as
compared with the other versions for authors of other accounts are actually part of the historic
event.

Source: Zaide, Gregorio and Sonia Zaide. (1990). Documentary Sources of Philippine History. Vol.
5. Manila: National Book Store

The Account

We started our trek to Kangkong at about eleven that night. We walked through the rain
over dark expanses of muddy meadows and fields. Our clothes drenched and our bodies
numbed by the cold wind, we plodded wordlessly. It was nearly two in the morning when
we reached the house of Brother Apolonio Samson in Kangkong. We crowded into the
house to rest and warm ourselves. We were so tired that, after hanging our clothes out to
dry, we soon asleep….

The Supremo began assigning guards at five o’ clock the following morning, Saturday 22
August 1896. He placed a detachment at the Balintawak boundary and another at the
backyard to the north of the house where we were gathered….

No less than three hundred men assembled at the bidding of the Supremo Andres
Bonifacio. Altogether, they carried assorted weapons, bolos, spears, daggers, a dozen small
revolvers and a rifle used by its owner, one Lieutenant Manuel, for hunting birds. The
Supremo Bonifacio was restless because of fear of a sudden attack by the enemy. He was
worried over the thought that any of the couriers carrying the letter sent by Emilio Jacinto
could have been intercepted; and in that eventuality, the enemy would surely know their
whereabouts and attack them on the sly. He decided that it was better to move to a site
called Bahay Toro.

At ten o’ clock that Sunday morning, 23 August 1896, we arrived at Bahay Toro. Our
number had grown to more than 500 and the house, yard, and warehouse of Cabesang
Melchora was crowded with us Katipuneros. The generous hospitality of Cabeasng Melchora
was no less than that of Apolonio Samson. Like him, she also opened her granary and he
had plenty of rice pounded and animals slaughtered to feed us….

The following day, Monday, 24 August, more Katipuneros came and increased our
number to more than a thousand. The Supremo called a meeting at ten o ‘clock that
morning inside Cabesang Melchora’s barn. Flanking him on both sides at the head of the
table were Dr. Pio Valenzuela, Emilio Jacinto, Briccio Pantas, Enrique Pacheco, Ramon
Bernardo, Pantaleon Torres, Francesco Carreon, Vicente Fernandez, Teodoro Plata, and
others. We were so crowded that some stood outside the barn.

The following matters were approved at the meeting:

1. An uprising to defend the people’s freedom was to be started at midnight of Saturday, 29

August 1896….

4. To be on a state of alert so that the Katipunan forces could strike should the situation
arise where the enemy was at a disadvantage. Thus, the uprising could be started earlier
than the agreed time of midnight 29 August 1896 should a favorable opportunity arise at
that date. Everyone should steel himself and be resolute in the struggle that was
imminent….

5. The immediate objective was the capture of Manila….

After the adjournment of the meeting at twelve noon, there were tumultuous shouts of ‘’
Long live the Sons of the People!’’

Guillermo Masangkay’s Account ‘’ The Cry of Balintawak’’

(August 26, 1896)

I n 1932, Guillermo Masangkay, a friend and fellow Katipunero of Andres Bonifacio, recounted his
experiences as a member of the revolutionary movement. In an interview with the Sunday Tribune
magazine, Masangkay said that the First Cry happened in Balintawak on August 26, 1896. In the first
decade of American rule, it was his account that was used by the government and civic officials to fix date
and place of the First Cry which was capped with the erection of the ‘’Monument to the Heroes of 1896’’ in
that place.

However, in an interview published in the newspaper Bagong Buhay on August 26, 1957, Masangkay
changed his narrative stating that the revolution began on August 23, 1896, similar to the assertion of Dr.
Pio Valenzuela. But Masangkay’s date was later changed again when his granddaughter, Soledad Buehler-
Borromeo, cited sources, including the Masangkay papers, that the original date was August 26.

Source:Torres Jose Victor. (2018). Batis : Sources in the Philippine History. C & E Publishing, Inc.

The Account
On August 26, a big meeting was held in Balintawak, at the house of Apolonio
Samson, then the cabeza of that barrio of Caloocan. Among those who attended, I
remember, were Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto, Aguedo del Rosario, Tomas Remigio, Briccio
Pantas, Teodoro Plata, Pio Valenzuela, Enrique Pacheco, and Francesco Carreon. They were
all leaders of the Katipunan and composed the board of directors of the organization.
Delegates from Bulacan, Cabanatuan, Cavite, and Morong ( now Rizal) were also present.

At about nine o’ clock in the morning of August 26, the meeting was opened with
Andres Bonifacio presiding and Emilio Jacinto acting as secretary. The purpose was to
discuss when the uprising was to take place. Teodoro Plata, Briccio Pantas, and Pio
Valenzuela were all opposed to starting the revolution too early. They reasoned that the
people would be in distress if the revolution were started without adequate prearation. Plata
was very forceful in his argument, stating that the uprising could not very well be started
without arms and food for the soldiers. Valenzuela used Rizal’s argument about the rich not
siding with the Katipunan organization.

Andres Bonifacio, sensing that he would lose in the discussion then left the session
hall and talked to the people who were waiting outside for the result of the meeting of the
leaders. He told the people that the leaders were arguing against starting the revolution
early, and appealed to them in a fiery speech in which he said: ‘’ You remember the fate of
our countrymen who were shot in Bagumbayan. Should we return now to the towns, the
Spaniards will only shoot us. Our organization has been discovered and we are all marked
men. If we don’t start the uprising, the Spaniards will get us anyway. What then, do you
say?’’

“Revolt,’’ the people shouted as one.

Bonifacio then asked the people to give a pledge that they were to revolt. He told that the
sign of slavery of the Filipinos were (sic) the cedula tax charged each citizen. ‘’ If it is true
that you are ready to revolt, ‘’ Bonifacio said, ‘’I want to see you destroyed your cedulas. It
will be the sign that all of us have declared our severance from the Spaniards.’’

With tears in their eyes, the people, as one man, pulled out their cedulas and tore
them to pieces. It was the beginning of the formal declaration of the separation from
Spanish rule….
When the people’s pledge was obtained by Bonifacio, he returned to the session hall and
informed the leaders of what took place outside. ‘’ The people want to revolt, and they
destroyed their cedulas, ‘’ Bonifacio said, ‘’ So now we have to start the uprising, otherwise
the people by hundreds will be shot.” There was no alternative. The board of directors, in
spite of the protest of Plata, Pantas, Valenzuela, voted for the revolution. And when this was
decided, the people outside shouted, “ Long live the Philippine Republic.”

Gregoria de Jesus’ The First “ Cry”

(August 25, 1896)

This version was written by no other than the “ Lakambini of the Katipunan” and wife Andres
Bonifacio, Gregoria de Jesus. She has been a participant of this event and became the keeper of
the secret documents of the Katipunan. After the revolution in August 1896, she lived with her
parents in Caloocan then fled to Manila when she was told that the Spanish authorities wanted to
arrest her. Eventually, she joined her husband in the mountains and shared adversities with him. In
her account, the First “Cry” happened near Caloocan on August 25, 1896.

Source: Zaide, Gregorio and Sonia Zaide. (1990). Documentary Sources of Philippine History. Vol.
5. Manila: National Book Store

The Account

“The activities of the Katipunan had reached nearly all corners of the Philippine Archipelago,
so that when its existence was discovered and some of the members arrested, we
immediately returned to Caloocan. However, as we were closely watched by the agents of
the Spanish authorities, Andres Bonifacio and other Katipuneros left the town after some
days. It was then that the uprising began, with the first cry for freedom on August 25,
1896. Meanwhile, I was with my parents. Through my friends, I learned that Spanish were
coming to arrest me. Immediately, I fled town at eleven o’ clock at night, secretly going
through the rice fields to La Lorna, with the intention of returning to Manila. I was treated
like an apparition, for, sad to say, in every house where I tried to get a little rest, I was
driven away as if people therein were frightened for their own lives. Later, I found out that
the occupants of the houses which I had visited were seized and severely punished – and
some even exiled. One of them was an uncle of mine whom I had visited on that night to
kiss his hands, and he died in exile.’’

Mandatory Readings

Memoirs of the Katipunan

“Xiao Time: Ang Unang Sigaw ng Himagsikan sa Balintawak, Kalookan